Officer Messages

Message from the Treasurer and Newsletter Co-editor

Julia Harper-Tanaka

Hello to all LLL members! I am happy to be back once again as LLL SIG treasurer. Over the past two years, there has been a slow increase in the size of our bank account: from 43,500 yen to 244,962 yen (as of Dec. 1). This is due to an increase in membership, the receipt of proceeds from the 2005 Pan-SIG conference, a very generous donation to our SIG from the West Tokyo chapter, a payment from Macmillan Language House for reviewing the textbook for older learners called Making Friends (thank you to the reviewers!), and the fact that the SIG has, thus far, incurred very few expenses.

While I am pleased to report an increase in funds, I am even more pleased that LLL has seen an increase in members and has begun to participate in JALT activities, such as the Pan-SIG conference. In fact, this coming year, we plan to take part in several other conferences and hope that as many members as possible will be able to attend. And for those of us who would like to become involved in LLL but are unable to travel to events, there is the newsletter. As one of the co-editors, I envision a newsletter to which all LLL members (and possibly their learners) can make various types of contributions. Anything from a successful classroom activity or a short greeting from a learner to a research paper would be most welcome. What is most important is that each issue of the newsletter includes a number of different voices! Please send any and all newsletter submissions to <toldyouso@eigosenmom.com>. If you have any questions about your submission, please feel free to contact me directly at <harptnk@eos.ocn.ne.jp>. I look forward to hearing from you!!

Julia Harper-Tanaka, Treasurer and Co-editor

Message from the Program Chair and Newsletter Co-editor

Emi Itoi

会員のみなさん、こんにちは。１１月の北九州大会で新しくプログラム担当に指名されました糸井です。２年間コーディネーターを務めましたが、諸般の事情でその役を下り、今後はプログラム担当者として微力ながらLLLのために頑張っていきたいと思っています。

この２年間を振り返ってみると、高齢者への英語教育が徐々に認知されてきた２年間だったと思いますが、まだまだ充分だとはいえません。今後必要なことは主に３つです。まず、われわれのような英語教育関係者が高齢者を対象とした研究を進め発表すること。アカデミックな英語教育分野では高齢者を対象とした研究はまだ少なく、研究は進んでいるとはいいがたい状態です。その理由の一つは、学校という組織で大勢が勉強している児童、生徒、学生とは違い、高齢者がどこでどんな状態で勉強しているのかが見えてこないので、量的な研究の対象になりにくいという現状です。ですから、今後高齢者を対象に研究では、地道な質的な研究が重要になります。

次に必要なことは、大学や自治体の生涯学習課が高齢者教育に力を入れ、地域の人たちが安価で質の高い英語教育を受けることが出来るような環境づくりをすることです。都市に住んでいる人や裕福な人たちは英語を学ぶ環境に恵まれています。都市には、多くの英会話学校があり、その中にはシニア向けのクラスを設けているところが多くなりました。書店や図書館へのアクセスも簡単です。今後は、地方に住む高齢者にも、自治体や地域の大学などが英語を学ぶ環境を提供することが望まれます。

最後に、しかし、これがわれわれにとっては最重要事項ですが、われわれのような高齢者教育に興味を持っているものが、知恵と力を集結させて行動を起こすことです。LLLは他の団体とのネットワークを広げ、世の中に認められる存在になっていくことが必要です。それによって、大学や自治体を動かすこともでき、如いては産業界も動かすことができるのです。

２００７年JALT大会は東京で開催されます。そこで少しでも多くの会員の方にお目にかかれますように。力を合わせ、新しいコーディネーターのエリックを支えながら、前進しましょう。

プログラム担当　糸井江美

Hello, everyone! I was appointed Program Chair at the Kitakyushu national conference held in November. YOROSHIKU! Although I have been the LLL-SIG coordinator for two years, I had to resign that position for various reasons. I will try to do my best in my new position.

Looking back on the past two years, I would say that the field of teaching languages to older learners has gained some recognition, but it deserves more. I believe that there are at least three main issues we should consider for the future. First, researchers and practitioners in this field should research about older learners of English and publish their results. Unfortunately, there is not yet any substantial research on older learners. This may be partly due to the fact that these learners are not recognized as a group, which makes it hard to do quantitative research. Therefore, we have very little information about older learners of English in Japan. Researchers and practitioners are, however, being encouraged to conduct qualitative studies over a span of time in order to present the public with more information about this issue.

Second, local governments and colleges should make greater efforts to offer learning opportunities to older people. Older people, especially those who live in rural areas, have fewer opportunities to pursue English lessons because of poor transportation and limited numbers of commercial English schools. In those areas, what local governments and colleges can do to improve the educational environment is enormous.

Finally, I would like to mention what we can do as LLL members. We need to network with other organizations to share our experiences and knowledge, and to become influential as a source of information concerning older learners. If we become a recognized organization, we can do a lot to influence local governments and colleges, and even the business world in Japan.

JALT2007 is to be held in Tokyo. I look forward to seeing as many members as possible there to share our dream. We can work together and make great progress.

Thank you.

Emi Itoi, Program Chair

Message from the Publicity Chair and Newsletter Co-editor

Robert Baines

I am delighted to be continuing my association with the LLL SIG in my new capacity as Publications Chair and Co-editor of the LLL SIG newsletter. As a lifelong learner, with eight degrees spanning the fields of education, vocational skills, and gerontology, and teaching certifications in several languages, I share the enthusiasm of the LLL SIG to respond to this emerging need and to encourage both lifelong and older learners to pursue their interest in English. For this population, I welcome the gradual shift in instructional approach from a work-related discipline to a stimulating recreational skill used to foster a community that provides opportunities for informal socializing among participants, instructors, and native language speakers. You who might be considering a more active role in the LLL SIG are warmly invited to share your thoughts, experiences, and practices, and, as newsletter co-editor, I look forward to helping you in your efforts and to seeing that your voice reaches the widest possible audience.

Message from the Membership Chair

Amanda Harlow

harlow Greetings from cold, snowy northern Japan! I am very lucky to live in Sapporo--home to all sorts of delicious foods and beer, as well as the coolest baseball team and the best hiking, skiing, and onsens in all Japan. Despite these distractions, I do manage to work. I have been working for NHK culture centers in Sapporo and Shin-Sapporo for four years. I also teach at my own small school called Imagine English (<www.imagineschool.net>).

In my NHK classes, most of the students are over fifty, with the oldest being 83. Initially, I regarded the classes as somewhat generic adult English conversation classes like those held in community centers. However, these classes took on special meaning for me as the year progressed, and I began to change as a teacher. One change was the recognition that communicative teaching methods and bright, jazzy EFL textbooks did not respond to the students' language needs. Instead, these intelligent, educated learners preferred interacting with me and with each other rather than working through mundane textbook dialogs.

As I was grappling with these classroom challenges, I learned that a group of interested teachers, led by Tadashi Ishida, were forming a special interest group geared to older learners. My interest took a more practical turn with my attendance at the JALT National Conference in Nara. There I experienced an exhilarating and exhausting meeting of minds with other teachers who shared my love for teaching older students. In addition, the focus of my distance master's in EFL studies at Manchester University in England was shifting to adult education. These experiences led me to become a member of LLL SIG, where I eventually became Membership Chair. And I am happy to say that I will be continuing in this role for another year, where I will keep track of the LLL SIG membership and welcome new members.

But, more importantly, I hope to put teachers in touch with each other since I understand the difficulties in developing a sense of community among SIG members living in faraway places?from Hokkaido to Tokyo down to the southernmost areas of Japan. As Membership Chair, I would like to bring together members from nearby geographical areas to make chapter-level connections through presentations or My Share contributions at monthly meetings.

I would like your membership in the LLL SIG to be a way for you and all of us to share challenges and ideas that arise each week as we meet with older students.

Lets LLL SIG this year!

Amanda Harlow, Membership Chair

Message from Newsletter Co-editor

Takako Kawabata

Hello, everyone! I am Takako Kawabata, and I am one of the co-editors of the LLL Newsletter. I would be quite happy to offer you assistance in translating your submissions from English to Japanese. I teach both English and JFL, and my students have ranged from junior high school students to 50-year-old workers. I have taught briefly in Australia and extensively in college and universities in Aichi Prefecture. I currently work at Aichi Gakuin University. My interests include literacy development, learning strategies, cross-cultural communication, and lifelong learning. Please feel free to contact me with your questions or for help with your LLL SIG contribution.

Newsletter Co-editor: Takako Kawabata

皆さん、こんにちは！新しくエディターの一員としてニュースレター発行時の日本語翻訳などを担当することになりました川畑貴子です。

現在、愛知学院大学でコミュニケーション英語の授業を担当するほか、愛知県内の大学、専門学校などで中学生から50代ビジネスマンまで幅広い年齢層に英語を、そして留学生に日本語なども教えています。

生涯学習だけでなく、リテラシー、学習ストラテジー、異文化コミュニケーションなどを研究しています。

皆さんのお役に立てるよう努力しますので、どうぞよろしくお願いします。

川畑貴子